DANCE WITH THE DEVIL is available now at: http://www.museituppublishing.com
A romantic family saga, the story is set in scenic but remote northern Nebraska, where the natural beauty belies an ugly underbelly where infidelity, incest, and illegitimacy are the local norm.
Rather than give you the typical blurb and excerpt, I want to talk about a time in our recent history when Satanism reared its evil head in our public schools. My tale stems from a couple of decades ago around the time several school shootings occurred, done by seemingly normal kids without motive or logic. The events were shocking and deadly, and left us wondering what had taken over those kids' minds. I can answer that with one word--devil worship. Well, I guess that is two words.
As a teacher in a small community, I witnessed similar events in my school, though our kids did not kill anyone. Rumors spread for months about strange cattle mutilations and small animal sacrifices. Then one day, the rumor mill gave out the word that a baby was to be kidnapped and sacrificed. The child was from a family who feuded regularly with another, and that one had a teen boy who turned out to be the leader of all the evil stuff that had been going on.
Unlike many towns where nobody acted until too late, the leaders of our town acted swiftly, if not wisely, and made such a stink it destroyed the supposed kidnapper-to-be's reputation. And his family's, as well. But it was the end of an ugly little game those kids had been playing; one that almost gave the devil victory.
My book is a work of fiction and absolutely nobody in it actually lived through the pages of the book in real life. Some of the deeds in the book did, in fact, happen, and I'd unwittingly walked my two 'virgin' daughters into the midst of this crowd. We escaped unharmed, though shaken by the events that unfolded.
If you find this chilling, my effort has not been in vain. In an era when self-indulgence has gone amuck, and when children are allowed and encouraged to feel that they are the 'center of the universe', casual acceptance of cute tendencies is a formula for disaster. Be not deceived; all it takes for evil to abound is for good people to do nothing to prevent it. If DANCE WITH THE DEVIL gets that message out, it will have been worth the effort and the twenty year wait to release this story.
I can't close this blog without encouraging you to read my book for reasons other than what I've just revealed about it. It tells the tale of modern times in a wonderful part of America, and how its inhabitants face some of the same uncertainty that their pioneer ancenstors did a century earlier.
I also want to invite you to visit the Muse website listed above, where you can now get your copy of my earlier mid-life romance, SLEEPING WITH HER ENEMY, at a 20% discount. Read about Ana Henry and her struggle to find love after it seemed she had nothing left to live for. Meanwhile, happy reading!
Pat Dale
Wow, I couldn't agree with you more and look forward to reading this book. Definitely on my to buy list (have to wait until SS check comes in - if the President doesn't decide to hold it) I can't wait to read this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Roseanne. I hear you on those checks. Sometimes, politicians make me want to scream. Or smack them up the side of the head with a smart stick. You think that would help? LOL
ReplyDeletePat Dale
Satanism--it's something that's NOT in my neighborhood...er, but after reading this, I guess we all need to be on our toes because it can happen anywhere. Thanks for the back story on your book.
ReplyDeletePat, I totally believe the background of this book because I also live in a rural community where animals were being killed in gross ways, in the woods, in the middle of the night. The cause was the same--Satanic worship. My neighbors and I raised such a ruckus with the local politicians and State Police that they had no choice but to pursue it. We took it to the point of tramping through miles of back woods on foot where vehicles couldn't go,leading police to the evidence. Though no one was ever apprehended, you know how small towns are and everybody knew who was involved. They were hounded until they stopped. I'm guessing they took their sick business elsewhere and that's a crime (literally), but we got them out of here away from our children and pets. My neighbor started the ball rolling...one usually mild-mannered woman who had just had enough. One person is all it takes. We CAN make a difference.
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